Chapter Summaries

Cui Hao tested how ordinary people viewed Li Junzi’s New Policies while discussing the resistance gathering in the Black Tortoise Kingdom’s Capital City. He left with Li Xingtian and Chen Baiqing, then teased Li Xingtian after his sincerity was recognized.

• Cui Hao questioned patrons at a tea stall about the New Policies, and a burly man said that being able to read had its conveniences.
• Cui Hao left the tea stall, and Li Xingtian and Chen Baiqing followed him after hearing the exchange.
• Cui Hao explained that he had helped stir discussion of the New Policies and wanted to understand public opinion, while Li Junzi remained in the capital writing her own work.
• Cui Hao asked Li Xingtian what he thought of the discussion, and Li Xingtian said he trusted whoever spoke last.
• Li Xingtian said Cui Hao sometimes chose to be a good person, prompting Cui Hao to play the fool and say he wanted to stick with him; Li Xingtian replied, “You can.”

Cui Hao fled after Li Xingtian claimed he had been hoodwinked, while Chen Baiqing and Li Xingtian discussed Cui Hao and their shared past. The Buddhist Sect’s monks arrived in the capital, and Lin Luoyu and Zhao Xuan prepared for their visit.

• Cui Hao made an excuse and ran off, leaving Chen Baiqing to ask Li Xingtian whether Cui Hao had deceived him.
• Chen Baiqing and Li Xingtian discussed Cui Hao’s work, then recalled how Li Xingtian used to take Chen Baiqing shopping when she was young.
• Chen Baiqing and Li Xingtian spotted Buddhist monks entering the city and decided to contact Eldest Senior Sister and prepare for their arrival.
• Lin Luoyu watched the monks head toward the Buddhist Temple and told Zhao Xuan that their leader was only a Golden Core cultivator and that arrangements were in place.
• Zhao Xuan asked about State Preceptor Li’s book, and Lin Luoyu reassured him that the Buddhist Sect did not have to succeed in spreading its teachings.

Chu Xingchen met Ru Nan at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge and admitted that his disciples had planned to use the spread of Hinayana Buddhism to help Li Junzi enact new policies and become a Second Sage. Ru Nan agreed to help, revealing that he knew Chu Xingchen’s real aim and would continue promoting Hinayana Buddhism despite expecting it to fail.

• Chu Xingchen explained to Bai Xuanling why he had come to Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge and said he wanted to speak with Ru Nan about his disciples’ plans on the Southern Jambu Continent.
• Ru Nan arrived, and Chu Xingchen welcomed him and apologized for his eldest disciple’s plan to use Hinayana Buddhism to support Li Junzi’s new policies.
• Chu Xingchen admitted the plan could disparage the Buddhist Sect and said he had reprimanded his eldest disciple, then asked Ru Nan for help.
• Ru Nan agreed before hearing the request and explained that he understood Chu Xingchen’s true aim was to help Li Junzi become a Second Sage.
• Ru Nan said he would continue promoting Hinayana Buddhism despite expecting it to fail, and declared that his compassion was no less than Chu Xingchen’s.

Chu Xingchen and Ru Nan reached an understanding that the Buddhist Sect would stop pushing Hinayana Buddhism, while each recognized the other’s self-interested motives. Ru Nan returned to the Great Thunderclap Temple, and Wuwang prepared to leave for the troubled Southern Jambu Continent; in the Black Tortoise Kingdom, Li Yingling confronted Cui Hao about a nursery rhyme he had made up for Li Junzi.

• Chu Xingchen told Ru Nan he understood his attachment to Mahayana Buddhism and offered to help, while Ru Nan stayed silent about his true intentions.
• Bai Xuanling ended their conversation, and Ru Nan departed after Chu Xingchen and Bai traded remarks about shamelessness.
• As he traveled, Ru Nan reflected that abandoning Hinayana Buddhism would buy the Buddhist Sect time and earn goodwill from Chu Xingchen, while admitting he had accepted Mahayana Buddhism in his heart.
• Near the Great Thunderclap Temple, Ru Nan met Wuwang, who said he was going to the Southern Jambu Continent to promote Hinayana Buddhism; Ru Nan told him to seek help if he encountered difficulties.
• In the Black Tortoise Kingdom’s imperial city, Cui Hao entered Li Junzi’s study to announce a new nursery rhyme and found Li Yingling there, who demanded to know what rhyme he had made up.

Li Yingling confronted Cui Hao over his widely circulated insulting children’s song, then joined the others to explain how the Buddhist Sect’s Hinayana Buddhism pilot would challenge the power of aristocratic clans. She began outlining a plan for temples to accept land offerings for the Buddhist Sect and was about to explain a second idea for gaining support.

• Li Yingling arrived in the Black Tortoise Kingdom Capital because Buddhist Sect news said Wuwang had come to the Southern Jambu Continent, and she questioned Cui Hao about his children’s song.
• Cui Hao admitted writing the song after Li Yingling showed him a copy, and she told him that Li Junzi had already explained his reasons.
• Li Yingling entered Li Junzi’s room and told Li Xingtian, Chen Baiqing, Lin Luoyu, and Li Junzi that Wuwang had come to oversee the pilot program in person.
• Li Yingling explained that Master and she had advised Wuwang to let temples promoting Hinayana Buddhism accept land offerings that would belong to the Central Province Buddhist Sect while the temples received the benefits.
• Li Xingtian asked why aristocratic clans would give land to Buddhist temples, and Li Yingling replied that Master and she had given Wuwang another idea.

The Buddhist Sect’s campaign to promote Hinayana Buddhism and acquire land in Cangwu Kingdom stalled when aristocratic clans resisted and harassed its tenant farmers. At Marvelous Affinity Temple, Yun Li offered Wuwang a risky solution, and Wuwang asked what it was.

• Buddhist temples across Cangwu Kingdom promoted Hinayana Buddhism, bought and reclaimed land, and pressured wealthy landowners to donate more.
• Aristocratic clans rejected the demands, and their counterattack stalled the campaign and drove tenant farmers off Buddhist Sect land.
• Wuwang watched impoverished commoners plead for shelter at Marvelous Affinity Temple while Yun Li assessed the failing effort.
• Yun Li warned that Hinayana Buddhism might not succeed even in a small kingdom and suggested he would report the failure to his sect leader.
• Yun Li said he had a method but refused responsibility for its consequences, and Wuwang asked what it was.

Yun Li gave Wuwang a way to aid commoners without openly claiming to interfere in secular affairs, and Wuwang set events in the Cangwu Kingdom in motion. As unrest spread and the aristocratic clans watched the outcome, Li Yingling declared that the time had come.

• Yun Li urged Wuwang to provide commoners with strengthening drinks and farming tools, leaving their use to mortals, and then departed.
• Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing processed reports in the Black Tortoise Kingdom while Lin Luoyu compiled books and Cui Hao wrote nursery rhymes.
• Wuwang's support helped spark an uprising in the Cangwu Kingdom, where commoners raised the banner of the Great Thunderclap Temple and Hinayana Buddhism.
• The Cangwu Kingdom mobilized its army, while aristocratic clans in both kingdoms struggled to contain the spread of Hinayana Buddhism.
• Li Xingtian concluded that Wuwang could no longer abandon the movement he had set in motion, and Li Yingling announced that the time had come.

Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing debated whether to intervene in the Cangwu Kingdom before its conflict between commoners and aristocratic clans escalated further. Li Yingling persuaded Chen Baiqing to follow their master's plan and set out, though Chen Baiqing remained privately committed to protecting him by whatever means necessary.

• Li Yingling told Chen Baiqing that unrest in the Cangwu Kingdom had become a rebellion and that Wuwang had lost control.
• Li Yingling asked Li Xingtian to notify Mister Li to prepare to leave for the Cangwu Kingdom.
• Chen Baiqing urged Li Yingling to wait, arguing that the conflict had to worsen before Mister Li's moderate approach would be accepted.
• Chen Baiqing admitted she would have delayed events and accepted the deaths as Wuwang's and the Buddhist Sect's responsibility if Li Yingling had not arrived.
• Li Yingling comforted Chen Baiqing and insisted that their master had chosen the timing for a reason, persuading her to go together.
• Chen Baiqing agreed to set out with Li Yingling but remained convinced that she would use any means to protect their master.

Wuwang struggled to contain the unrest caused by Hinayana Buddhism’s sudden rise, while the Buddhist Sect’s Buddhas sent criticism but no help. Li Yingling arrived with Chen Baiqing, declaring that she would help placate both sides and clean up the crisis.

• Yun Li teased Wuwang and offered another plan, but Wuwang refused to hear it and sent him away.
• Wuwang read reports describing growing resistance and unrest as Hinayana Buddhism became a rallying cry for rebellion and conflict.
• Wuwang realized that persuading people or using Buddhist chants would only address the crisis temporarily, while the conflict continued to escalate.
• Li Yingling arrived with Chen Baiqing and reproached Wuwang for damaging the reputations of both the Buddhist Sect and her master, Chu Xingchen.
• Li Yingling said she had brought people to placate both sides and clean up the mess, and Wuwang promised never to forget her help.

Li Yingling proposed University reforms to ease the conflict between the aristocratic clans and the masses, while Chen Baiqing urged Wuwang to pursue a more radical path that could spread Hinayana Buddhism. Wuwang was left weighing two plans and confronting the sacrifices each would demand.

• Li Yingling proposed that the aristocratic clans share their knowledge through University reforms while Hinayana Buddhist followers encouraged the masses to seek change gradually.
• Wuwang hesitated to accept Li Yingling's plan, and she left with Chen Baiqing after warning that time was running out.
• Chen Baiqing told Wuwang that the Buddhist Sect would likely abandon him and that agreeing to Li Yingling's plan would prevent unrest but doom Hinayana Buddhism.
• Chen Baiqing urged Wuwang to embrace a riskier path, shoulder the resulting sins, and use the masses' hope in Hinayana Buddhism to unite them.
• Chen Baiqing left Wuwang alone beneath the moon, telling him to follow the voice within his heart.

At Marvelous Affinity Temple, Li Yingling left with Cui Hao to inspect the situation while Li Xingtian and Chen Baiqing stayed behind to await Wuwang’s decision. Chen Baiqing asked Li Xingtian to trust her and let her make her own choice, and his bitter smile showed that he was already inclined to support her.

• Li Yingling and Chen Baiqing discussed Wuwang’s hesitation and agreed that he should come to his decision willingly.
• Chen Baiqing suggested Li Yingling go inspect the situation with Cui Hao, and Li Yingling took him along despite his protests.
• Li Yingling instructed Li Xingtian to watch over Marvelous Affinity Temple and left with Cui Hao.
• Chen Baiqing told Li Xingtian that she trusted him and asked him to trust her by doing nothing.
• Chen Baiqing said she wanted to make her own decision, and Li Xingtian realized he was inclined to help her.

Chen Baiqing left Li Xingtian without demanding a promise, hoping he would help only if he could, while Chu Xingchen explained why he sent Li Yingling to support Baiqing and how Li Junzi would guide events in the Black Tortoise Kingdom. Xie Lingyu leaned in to kiss Chu Xingchen, but Bai Xuanling interrupted and attacked him.

• Chen Baiqing left Li Xingtian without asking him to promise help, deciding to trust him to tell her if he faced pressure he could not withstand.
• Chen Baiqing resolved to keep reminding Wuwang that Eldest Senior Sister would not let matters go too far and that he needed to act before he failed.
• Chu Xingchen told Xie Lingyu that he had sent Li Yingling to protect Chen Baiqing, provide a safety net, and teach his disciples not to take their favored status for granted.
• Chu Xingchen explained that Li Junzi would ultimately control the situation around Zhao Xuan’s invitation and the New Policies, which were only the first step toward becoming a Second Sage.
• Xie Lingyu leaned toward Chu Xingchen, but Bai Xuanling arrived and caught them; Chu Xingchen teased her, and she punched him despite his protest that he was still injured.

In Cangwu Kingdom’s capital, Li Junzi decided to introduce her New Policies without waiting for Wuwang’s agreement or a perfect moment. She entered the Hall of Governance to present her ideals, while Lin Luoyu watched her go.

• Li Junzi continued compiling a primer instead of immediately implementing the New Policies, while Lin Luoyu anxiously followed news from outside.
• Li Junzi told Lin Luoyu that they would act that day, whether or not Wuwang agreed, and said ideals had to be realized by their own hands.
• Li Junzi explained that she had found resolve in imagining the Second Sage’s doubts and hardships, and said she would accept whatever judgment the future brought.
• Li Junzi walked into the Hall of Governance to meet the monarch, while Lin Luoyu remained outside and reflected on what a true Second Sage might be.

Chen Baiqing explained to Wuwang that the Buddhist Sect’s support for Hinayana Buddhism would provoke the Cangwu Kingdom into bloody suppression, and that the movement would likely end in violence and imperial amnesty. She warned him to agree to Eldest Senior Sister’s proposal when pressed, especially if Cui Hao came to see him, then planned to tell Eldest Senior Sister that Wuwang was still unwilling.

• Chen Baiqing let Wuwang sit with his decision while Hinayana Buddhist slogans and increasingly reckless plans spread through the Buddhist Sect.
• Wuwang questioned why Chen Baiqing had not warned him that Hinayana Buddhism’s growing influence would bring the kingdom’s suppression.
• Chen Baiqing explained that the aristocratic clans would likely pay to end the uprising and that Hinayana Buddhism’s path would be to kill, burn, and accept imperial amnesty.
• Chen Baiqing told Wuwang to agree when Eldest Senior Sister became impatient and warned him not to underestimate Cui Hao.
• Chen Baiqing left, deciding to tell Eldest Senior Sister that Wuwang might have other plans or support and would not advance her proposal yet.

At Jingci Temple, Abbot Fang Jing saw false Hinayana Buddhism inciting worshippers to attack soldiers and chose to warn them despite the danger. As the crowd seized him, he urged them to see the truth and hurry home.

• Fang Jing watched Hinayana Buddhism’s followers gather at Jingci Temple, where they prayed for violence and received porridge.
• Fang Jing told Laici that the followers planned to fight armored soldiers in two days and asked him to preserve Jingci Temple’s traditions if Fang Jing died.
• Fang Jing hurled water from a purification vase onto the Buddha statue, climbed onto the altar, and denounced the followers’ version of Hinayana Buddhism as false and dangerous.
• The crowd cursed Fang Jing and surged toward him, while he shouted that they should hurry home before they too were seized or killed.

Fang Jing offered his life to stop the crowd from turning against the monks, but they attacked him until cries about the aristocratic clans’ destruction of their homes drew them away. Cui Hao saved Fang Jing and revealed that the Buddhist Sect had encouraged the unrest, then sent Laici a warning and a place to seek help.

• Fang Jing told the crowd that he valued their lives above his own, but they beat him while Laici tried to defend him.
• Shouts that the aristocratic clans were destroying homes, fields, and graves caused the crowd to rush away from Jingci Temple.
• Cui Hao gave Laici an immortal pill that healed Fang Jing’s injuries and asked how the Buddhist Sect had responded to the temple’s messages.
• Laici told Cui Hao that the Buddhist Sect had urged them to turn a blind eye and let the aristocratic clans do as they pleased, while the temple refused to obey.
• Cui Hao told Laici to hide, offered help at Marvelous Affinity Temple, and explained that his eldest senior sister had sent him to investigate; then he left.

Cui Hao tried to pressure Wuwang into reconsidering his plan, but Chen Baiqing exposed his bluff and left him wondering what Third Senior Sister was doing. Meanwhile, Lin Luoyu sent the agreed new policies and deployment plans from Cangwu Kingdom as military preparations began.

• Cui Hao questioned Wuwang about his decision and warned that the Venerable Buddha might soon order him to stop.
• Wuwang hesitated after Cui Hao suggested that Chu Xingchen could appeal to the Venerable Buddha.
• Chen Baiqing exposed Cui Hao's claim that Eldest Senior Sister had sent him, then told him that Eldest Senior Sister was waiting for his report.
• Chen Baiqing dismissed Wuwang's attempted explanation and left, believing two days was too little time to salvage the situation.
• Lin Luoyu sent the new policies and deployment plan by Jade Token as troops and Confucian cultivators left the capital, while Black Tortoise Kingdom prepared military support.

Chu Xingchen left the Heavenly Derivation Sect for the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect to investigate Xu Linglong's appearance and potentially disrupt her plans. He arrived to find Li Moze, Huang Miao, and Xu Jin waiting, but his borrowed supreme treasure pushed Xu Jin away when they tried to embrace.

• Xie Lingyu read Lin Luoyu's routine report and Li Yingling's angry account of Chen Baiqing's actions, then questioned Chu Xingchen's calm response.
• Chu Xingchen explained that he wanted his disciples to handle their disagreements themselves and left the disciples in Xie Lingyu's care before setting out for the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect.
• Chu Xingchen used the Teleportation Formation to reach the Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect, where Li Moze, Huang Miao, and Xu Jin were waiting for him.
• Chu Xingchen tried to embrace Xu Jin, but the Dao Resonance of the Innate Primordial Origin Stabilizing Dao Two Qi Pearl pushed Xu Jin backward.
• Xu Jin protested that the treasure was not lousy and that Chu Xingchen's apology only made his excuse less believable.

Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin planned to seek help in dealing with Xu Linglong’s actions in Dongsheng Shenzhou, recruiting Yuyang Daozi and deciding to rely on Huang Miao’s presence when approaching Firmament Rhyme Hall. The group left the details of their plan unresolved, with Huang Miao positioned to answer for them.

• Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin joked about their long separation before discussing Xu Linglong and Chu Xingchen’s plan to find Ye Antao of Firmament Rhyme Hall.
• Chu Xingchen revealed that he intended to trade a secret Ye Antao was hiding from Yuyang Daozi for her help, and Xu Jin agreed to call Yuyang.
• Yuyang Daozi joined Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin for drinks, then learned they needed his help with Xu Linglong at Firmament Rhyme Hall.
• Chu Xingchen indicated that Huang Miao would answer for them, and Yuyang Daozi spotted the legendary senior in the corner.

Ye Antao returned to Firmament Rhyme Hall and discovered that the sect had activated its grand formation and imposed strict inspections because important guests had arrived. At the Main Peak, she encountered Chu Xingchen, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi, and Chu Xingchen recognized her in front of everyone.

• Ye Antao returned from a sect assignment and saw Firmament Rhyme Hall’s Burning Flame Celestial Circuit Grand Formation activated.
• A fellow disciple told Ye Antao that an extraordinary visitor had arrived and that the sect was under tight restrictions.
• Ye Antao and her team passed an inspection and walked to the Main Peak, speculating that Bai Xuanling was the visitor.
• At the summit, Ye Antao saw the sect leader speaking with Chu Xingchen, Xu Jin, and Yuyang Daozi, while Yunxiao stood nearby in a tense mood.
• Ye Antao tried to slip away, but Chu Xingchen spotted her, greeted her, and praised her exceptional bearing.